Julius Juma Okello is a Lecturer and the Coordinator of Agribusiness Management Program in the Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nairobi, Kenya, and a World Bank consultant. He earned his PhD in Agricultural Economics from Michigan State University with specializations in international agricultural development, agricultural marketing, and resource and environmental economics.
His current research focuses on the role of ICT in linking smallholder farmers to high value domestic and international markets, food safety and risk, and sustainable management of natural resources. Some of his publications include "From circle of poison to circle of virtue: Pesticides, export standards and Kenya’s green bean farmers," Journal of Agricultural Economics (2010); “The role of ICT-based market information services in spatial food market integration: The case of Malawi Agricultural Commodity Exchange”, International Journal of ICT Research and Development in Africa (2011)". Dr. Okello is currently coordinating an IDRC funded Africa-wide project on effectiveness of ICT on promoting smallholder farmer commercialization and household food security. He also coordinates a project that is using Participatory Geographical Information System (P-GIS) to promote sustainable management of natural forests. He has in the past worked for various other international organizations including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Oxfam (America), International Livestock Research Institute, and International Food Policy Research Institute as a consultant.